Nicholas St Lawrence (1460-1526)
}} Biography Sir Nicholas St Lawrence, 4th Baron Howth (c. 1460-1526) was a leading Irish soldier and statesman of the early Tudor period. Served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. A distinguished soldier who fought at the Battle of Knockdoe; * 1487 (ABT) : death of father, succession to the Title Baron Howth. Note: Joan Beafort, cousin of Henry VII of England (1457-1509), was his stepmother. She married the Sir Robert in 1478 in a quite public ceremony, which was most noticeably well after the date of Nicholas' birth. House of Howth House of Howth is a Irish Noble House of the St Lawrence Family located at Castle Howth in County Dublin, numbering 15 barons and 4 earls with distinquished career as lawmakers and soldiers. Since 1180 the St. Lawrence family have been the Lords of Howth. Howth Castle has stood on its present site for over seven hundred years, the original one, a timber structure, having been sited on Tower Hill, overlooking Balscadden Bay. The title line died out in 1909 when their were no more male heirs, but the castle estate remains with the St Lawrence family female heirs to this date. Early life He was born about 1460, eldest son of Robert St Lawrence, 3rd Baron Howth and his first wife Alice White. His stepmother Joan Beaufort was a cousin of Henry VII to whom Nicholas remained loyal. The date of his father's death and his succession to the title is in dispute but it was no later than 1487. Lambert Simnel The pretender Lambert Simnel appeared in Ireland claiming to be the Earl of Warwick, nephew of Edward IV. Simnel gained the support of most of the Anglo-Irish nobility, notably the 8th Earl of Kildare, and was crowned as "King Edward VI" at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin 1487. Nicholas, however, no doubt mindful of his own close connection to the Tudor dynasty, warned Henry VII of the impending invasion. Following Henry's triumph at the Battle of Stoke, Nicholas was rewarded with a substantial grant of money and confirmation of his right to Howth. Battle of Knockdoe Despite their differences over the Simnel rebellion, Howth became a close ally of Kildare (who received a pardon from Henry VII) and later challenged the Earl of Ormond to a duel on Kildare's account. Kildare and Howth fought together at the bloody Battle of Knockdoe in 1504 between the forces of the Crown and the Burkes of Connaught.O'Flanagan J. Roderick Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland 2 Volumes London 1870 Howth is credited with urging the immediate attack which resulted in a victory for the Crown's forces. Lord Chancellor of Ireland Lord Howth was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1509 to 1513. As O'Flanagan remarks all his training was as a soldier and the appointment was presumably a tribute to his loyalty to the Crown; on the other hand his uncle and brother were both distinguished lawyers.Ball F. Elrington, The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 (1926). John Murray, London. O'Flanagan notes that his career as Chancellor leaves no trace on the records but that in the absence of any known complaints he presumably performed adequately enough.Lives of the Lord Chancellors The death of the Earl of KIldare mean the end of Howth's political career; he was dismissed from the Chancellorship and the Council and lived in retirement until his death in 1526. Marriage and Family 1st Marriage: Genet Plunkett Killeen Lord Howth married three times and had children by each marriage. His first wife was Genet, daughter of Christopher Plunket, 3rd Baron Killeen; They had eleven children: * Christopher St Lawrence (1482-1542), 5th Baron Howth - * Amory St Lawrence (c1483-); * Robert St Lawrence (c1485-); * Thomas St Lawrence (c1490-); * Katherine St Lawrence (c1492-) who married Sir John Plunkett; * Marian St Lawrence (c1495-) , who married Sir Christopher Nugent and was the mother of the 5th Baron Delvin ;she married secondly Gerald Fitzgerald and thirdly John Parker (Irish judge), the Master of the Rolls in Ireland; * Eleanor St Lawrence (c1496-) who married Sir Walter Cheevers; * Margaret St Lawrence (c1500-) who married Sir William Darcy (died 1540); * Elizabeth St Lawrence (c1502-), who married Thomas Netterville, judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland); * Alison St Lawrence (c1505-) - , who married firstly John Netterville of Dowth,ancestor of the 1st Viscount Netterville and secondly Patrick Whyte; Her ggson, William Dungan (1606-1636) had children that immigrated to America and help settle Rhode Island. *Anne St Lawrence (c1508-), who maried Thomas Cusack. Other Marriages His second wife was Anne Berford; and his third wife was Alison Fitzsimons.Cockayne'' Complete Peerage'' References * Nicholas_St_Lawrence,_4th_Baron_Howth - Wikipedia # Ball, F. Elrington History of the Parishes of Dublin Vol.5 Dublin 1917 # O'Flanagan, J. Roderick Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland 2 Volumes London 1870 # Ball F. Elrington, The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 (1926). John Murray, London. # Lives of the Lord Chancellors # Cokayne Complete Peerage Category:Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Category:Irish judges Category:Lord Chancellors of Ireland Category:15th-century Irish people Category:16th-century Irish people